Insider Selling: VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells $140,780.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total transaction of $140,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,752,855.72. This trade represents a 1.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

VeriSign Stock Up 3.5%

VRSN traded up $9.77 on Wednesday, hitting $290.92. 862,744 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 829,757. The company has a 50 day moving average of $275.50 and a 200-day moving average of $259.86. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.55 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.The business had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 35.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 12.3% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 104.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 122.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Key VeriSign News

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded VeriSign to a “Strong Buy”, or Zacks Rank #1, citing growing optimism about the company’s earnings prospects. The upgrade is the clearest near-term catalyst behind the stock’s strength. VeriSign Upgraded to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.75. Recent target increases from JPMorgan, Wedbush and other firms reinforce expectations for additional upside, although JPMorgan maintains a neutral rating. VeriSign analyst ratings
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, annualized to $3.24 and yielding about 1.2%, adds to shareholder returns and signals continued cash-generation capacity.
• Neutral Sentiment: VeriSign’s stock has outperformed many competitors recently despite a weaker session, remaining above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages and near its 52-week high. This indicates strong momentum but also leaves the shares more exposed to profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares and EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares. Both transactions were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans and represented small reductions in their holdings, limiting the negative signal, but the insider selling may temper enthusiasm.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRSN. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wedbush increased their target price on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.75.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.